Get your Grinds in while you can. The North Shore’s most popular trail is closing early this year to allow for construction of $3.5 million in improvement projects.
Starting Sept. 5, the Grouse Grind will be closed seven days a week while crews work on repairs to damaged stairs and eroded sections; start construction on a revitalized trailhead including new seating, a stretching area and water fountain; and make upgrades to the BCMC Route and Baden-Powell Trail viewpoints and rest stops, according to Metro Vancouver, which has jurisdiction over Grouse Mountain Regional Park.
“Due to the steep and hazardous nature of the terrain where work is taking place on the Grouse Grind Trail, it is not possible to provide detours on the route and keep the trail open. Please stay off the trail when it is closed due to the hazards involved,” a message from Metro Vancouver read. “Ignoring the closure may result in serious injury and delays to the eventual reopening.”
Metro Vancouver typically closes “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster” in the fall, when snow and ice set in, and reopens the trail in the spring when conditions are safe.
The Grind is hiked about 100,000 times each year, according to Grouse Mountain Resort.
No strangers to construction detours, North Shore residents and visitors will be asked to use the equally strenuous BCMC Trail as an alternate route, 250 metres to the east. Because it is a more rugged trail than the Grouse Grind, Metro recommends a higher level of preparedness before heading out.
Other improvements throughout Grouse Mountain Regional Park are expected to be delivered in phases through until 2025.
